Insurance Tactics to Devalue Your Car Accident Claim
Even if your claim isn’t denied outright, you still need a competent South Carolina attorney to ensure you get full and fair compensation. Here are just a few of the ways an insurance carrier might attempt to reduce your pay out:
- Trying to get you to accept a settlement before you realize the extent of your injuries, which allows the company to avoid paying additional money later if you require ongoing care or are out of work for an extended period
- Telling you it isn’t necessary to consult or hire an attorney, leaving you vulnerable to potentially unfair treatment
Additionally, an insurance carrier may try to wear you down with constant requests for information such as recorded statements—comments that can be used against you later. This stalling tactic is less effective if you have a Myrtle Beach lawyer handling your communication.
Having adequate legal representation is especially important when an insurance company attempts to pester you into signing an authorization to release all medical records. An attorney will negotiate the specific medical records that can be released to the insurance company, denying the release of any medical history outside the scope of your Myrtle Beach collision.
Our team can also work with your doctor to acquire missing or inaccurate documentation that may have resulted in the denial of the original claim. Having your injuries properly documented serves as compelling evidence to strengthen your case.
It's also important to know that insurance companies seeking to deny your claim may even engage in social media surveillance to dispute medical treatment as unnecessary or state you aren’t as injured as you claimed.
Don’t give the insurance companies any extra ammunition by not following the restrictions set by your doctor, posting about the accident or your injuries online, or posting images and videos on social media. Instead, it is recommended you:
- Understand the importance of complying with physical restrictions set by your doctor
- Do not post anything online about the accident or your injuries
- Keep images and videos of any physical labor off social media—even lifting a toddler for a group photo may be used against your claim
When you have an attorney handling communication, it forces an insurance company to take your claim seriously. An insurer is less likely to give a well-known local attorney the run-around, and that can result in fair treatment for you.
Insurance Bad Faith
It’s possible that your claim may have been denied in “bad faith,” which requires the actions of an attorney to rectify. The South Carolina State Supreme Court decreed that a contract between an insurer and insurance holder has an implied covenant of good faith. Legally, that means an insurance carrier is required to act honestly and fairly with you after a Myrtle Beach accident. However, this may not always happen, and we can help. An insurer is acting in bad faith by:
- Threatening to rescind the policy, pay out less, or deny the claim entirely
- Misrepresenting facts or providing deceptive information about what a policy should cover
- Failing to reasonably and promptly investigate and settle claims
- Attempting to settle a claim for less than what is reasonably due
Have You Been Injured In A Charleston South Caolina Area Car Accident?
If you've been injured in a car accident you should speak with a car accident lawyer as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our Charleston, South Carolina office directly at 843.488.2359 to schedule your consultation. We are also able to meet clients at our Conway, Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Mt. Pleasant, North Myrtle Beach or North Charleston office locations.
